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Arriving in Long Bawan |
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A couple of weeks ago our family was able to take advantage
of an opportunity that MAF provides for our families to be able to have one
trip interior (to stay in one of the villages we serve) each year.
Although Tyler gets to fly to all these villages several times a week, and
Caleb, Aaron, and myself have flown in with him on a daily flight, we don’t
really know what it’s like to truly live in or experience life in these
villages. Last year, Tyler ended up staying overnight interior.
Because of weather build-up, he was not able to fly home that evening.
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The whole family packed into a Cessna 206 |
The couple he stayed with is one of the men MAF hires to help take care of our
MAF planes and details in that village. He and his wife were thrilled to
host Tyler for a night and have repeatedly asked when our family would be able
to come visit. So, finally, we made it happen, and Tyler flew the 6 of us
into their village on a Friday afternoon. With us we brought a large
“care package” of food valuables that we know are either expensive or harder
for them to get there (oil, sugar, eggs, carrots, onions, coffee, among other things).
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Katelyn taking a short nap. Doesn't that hurt?!? |
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My little ladies after their first flight |
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Pak Jonas (right) and his wife Ibu Hella (far left) |
Our trip to Long Bawan with Pak Jonas and his wife was very
lovely. They were generous hosts, and not only fed us meals and snacks,
but had really prepared for us by having mattresses available for us to sleep
on, and planning outings so we could see the area they live in. Being at
a higher elevation nestled in the valley of some mountains gave a much
appreciated relief from the heat. While still warm, we enjoyed cooler,
fresh air and cool evenings and mornings. Our hosts home was right in a
small neighborhood, next to a big soccer field (with cows hanging
around). Our kids enjoyed the freedom to explore outside, play with the kids there
and going on a really beautiful hike.
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Hiking up a road |
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Walking above the rice paddies |
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The kids and the pig Pak Jonas has |
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The house we stayed at |
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Soccer field just by the house |
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Caleb and Aaron joined in on a game of soccer |
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Jocelyn and Aaron sharing a sibling moment |
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One of the kids posing for us |
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Katelyn loving being chased |
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Playing on the rocks next to the house |
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Kids offered Katelyn some candy but Katelyn wasn't so sure about it |
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Tyler visiting with the men after supper |
Pak Jonas, though also working for
MAF, owns his own “garden” land where he grows pineapple, jeruk (like oranges),
and other fruit. He also owns a rice patty, and a pig. We all
enjoyed hiking to his fruit garden and watching him cut off the pineapples to
bring back to the house in his wheelbarrow.
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Pak Jonas picking some ripe pineapple from his garden |
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The view was spectacular |
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Rice paddies |
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Some folks working in their paddies |
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Worn road we used as a path to get to the garden |
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Garden is on the hill to the left |
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"Is this eatable?" |
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Jocelyn found the leftovers of a pineapple |
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These pineapples here are extremely sweet and super delicious |
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I didn't know tangerines could grow in the country, but they could. Not as sweet as the pineapple though |
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Another beautiful view |
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Visiting with the neighbors |
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Village houses |
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Main road being worked on |
Saturday morning Pak Jonas took us in his pick-up to visit
the neighboring villages, one of which was his birth village. He
certainly knows everyone there! Just past his birth village, before
hitting the Malaysian border, we were able to visit a salt mine. We were
able to see the well that they pull the water out of, then see inside where
they have 3 troughs full of the boiling salt water. It usually takes a
full day for all the water to evaporate, leaving the piles of salt for them to
prepare for selling. We learned that how the salt mine works is that
these families from the villages around there have one week every year (one
turn) to work at the salt mine in order to earn some money. Two families
can come at a time and live in the salt mines for a week before someone else
comes to do the same thing the next week. We are assuming that the people
must find this a valuable way to earn income for their families and that they
would want to take advantage of this opportunity.
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"Salt House" Where they make salt |
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Salt well where water seeps into from the river |
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Place where families stay for a week to boil and process the salt |
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High tech salt vats |
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Working the trade |
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Not much to this |
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Just a 50 gal drum cut in half with clay sidings and a wood fire |
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Finished product |
Before leaving Long Bawan, Pak Jonas blessed us with a huge
bag of rice from their fields, 4 pineapple, and some duck eggs. Even
though these people have little, they are so generous to our families!
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Fueling up the aircraft getting ready to go home |
Despite some of the challenges of staying interior overnight
(using a squatty potty, trying to figure out how to “shower” the Indonesian way
(buckets and dippers), just to name a few things…) our kids loved our time
there and look forward to going back one day. We’re so thankful to see
the places we serve and meet the people who depend on MAF. Not only do we
serve these families, but they surely bless us as well!
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